


The ways you said “I love you.”

by Squishhhy_Alieen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Graduation, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Akaashi Keiji, Time Skips, barely even there angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squishhhy_Alieen/pseuds/Squishhhy_Alieen
Summary: Who would have thought you could say “I love you” in more ways than one? Here we follow a story through Akaashi’s eyes of his and Bokuto’s blooming relationship, over ten separate occasions.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	The ways you said “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> First off, apologies for any mistakes made! I try to read and edit over my work a few times but there are bound to be a few that I don't catch, so feel free to point any out to me! Also, I have so many stories in the making that I'm really excited about but I'm a little hesitant in posting at the moment since I'm planning most of them to be quite long/multiple chapters and I don't want to update infrequently or not often enough because I understand how annoying that can be. Either way, hope you enjoy this short fic that I managed to produce and I'd be interested to hear what you think!

One (1) 

As a hello. 

You always said hello in a way that would make even the most stony people reply with a smile. You always sounded so excited to see me, voice loud and boisterous, filled with a type of animated intensity that made me feel all types of things. We’d walk to morning practice together, your stories of what shows you were watching at the moment and recalling silly memories that made it hard for me to keep a straight face. 

Volleyball practice was a home and an escape at the same time, it felt like a subtext of a world, a small deviation from normal life. It would always go by way too fast for my liking and soon it was time to change and head back to reality. Then it was time for class and my steps lost their fast pace and I wonder if you knew how much I dreaded going to lessons by the way you’d slow down too. 

You didn’t like goodbyes, you said that it felt too much like an end to something that you couldn’t return to. I didn’t counter that. So your see you later and talk in a bit were chaste but sweet and your determination to show me that you had every intention of seeing me or talking later made me flutter with excitement every time. 

Two (2)

Over a cup of jasmine tea. 

We sat at the chabudai, worksheets and textbooks spilled over the top as we tried to study. I loved being around you, it didn’t matter what we were doing- if we were even doing anything. Something about your aura just pulled me in and demanded my attention, unwilling to let me go, as though I’d want to anyway. It sometimes brought challenges when we were studying but I imagined that I kept a relatively good act of seeming unbothered.

However, with you, it didn’t take much to stray me away from homework. Without knowing the effect you cased on me, it allowed you to use that to your advantage. 

“Akaashi” you whined and dragged out the ‘a’, then plopped your head onto the table with a soft thud, “my brain feels like it’s going to explode if I don’t take a break soon.” 

“Bokuto-san, you’re being dramatic” I rolled my eyes and didn’t reveal that I felt the same, “but fine.” 

You lit up and shuffled your papers together, then stared at me, perhaps waiting for me to do the same, so I did. “What do you want to do?”

I picked up the tea cup with both hands since I was sure it had cooled down enough by now and blew lightly before taking a sip. After not getting any suggestions I looked up and caught your eyes fixated on me, I raised an eyebrow in question but felt how my face grew warm. You ducked away, but it didn’t hide the fact that I saw the tips of your ears and how they were coated a pretty shade of pink. 

A couple hours later, we laid with our backs on the floor, heads beside each other’s although set in the opposite direction. Our homework and textbooks were long forgotten, replaced by a comfortable and easy conversation. A realisation dawned on me while we laid, that if I turned my head to the left, our noses would touch, and maybe I wouldn’t be opposed to leaning forward and planting a kiss down on your lips. 

“Hey ‘kaashi? How do you manage to stay calm all the time?”

Before I realised what I was saying, my mouth was already moving “the trick is to be so stressed out it becomes a default state of mind.” 

“Yeah-Wait what?” 

“What?” I repeated quickly, heat forming on my face. You sat up on your elbow and looked at me with a surprised expression, I had the feeling that I had gotten slightly too comfortable. Before any of those thoughts could marinate, you let out a loud laugh and fell back to your previous position while I felt myself wanting to sink into the floor like butter on freshly made toast. 

“It makes me so happy to know that my best friend is a weirdo” you grinned and I balked, shoving you away. 

“I-I’m not-” I attempted to defend myself but it was lost on my tongue as you laughed harder, all teeth present in your smile. Your laugh filled the air around us and I allowed it to occupy my mind, it was better than staying stuck on how you said best friend. 

Three (3)

With the touch of your fingertips.

We stayed behind for extra practice as usual and after I had decided that it was enough for today, we strolled to the club room. The silence was filled in by your exaggerate retellings of your performance in volleyball today, every so often looking to me for words of affirmation. 

I had caught you glancing my way a few times too many during practice and when I did, you’d turn away quickly as if you were avoiding my gaze. This little game of push and pull and shared glimpses between us continued throughout the day, up until we were left alone where this mere game lacked an audience and turned into something much more intimate.

We made it to the club room to change before heading out and locking the door. If both our eyes lingered far longer than necessary over each other’s bodies, it went unsaid.

We were taking our time walking home today, but I didn’t mind. The sidewalk was slightly wet and the cloudy skies brought brilliant whites and hot silvers to accent what blue was present, quite a sight when mixed in with heavy grey sky. There was a suggestive pause from what you were saying and your voice changed into something smaller and unsure. 

“Hey ‘kaashi?”

“Hm?” 

“Can I hold your hand?” Your eyes found solace in the gravel that we walked upon and a faint pink colour bloomed on your cheeks. The silence idled as I tried to slow the fastening of my heart but it was fruitless and I was almost sure my cheeks had matched yours in colour. 

“You-you don’t have to! Or whatever...It was stupid...pretend I didn’t say anything!” You quickly erupted but I didn’t want to let this opportunity slip. I slowly nudged my hand against yours and you looked down with wide eyes. 

I gradually intertwined our fingers and clasped our hands together. Your hands were warm, and slightly sweaty but I acknowledged to myself that I didn’t mind, not at all. In all fairness it wasn’t that big of a jump from the types of touches we’ve shared, I always found you leaving subtle and faint touches on my arm or elbow or calf. Faint but there. And it wasn’t inherently romantic, but it left me feeling fuzzy and exhilarated all the same. Even acts like leaning off my shoulder to talk to me or tugging me by my wrist to show me something. 

This shouldn’t have been that contrasting when you take the others into account. But it was. It was deliberate. We both knew we were entering new waters, something different. However, as I stole another glance your way, your elevated grin was blinding and maybe different was a good thing. 

Four (4)

In a letter. 

You came to me one day, more jittery than normal, with your hands hidden behind your back. You barely made eye contact with me. I didn’t mind though because I could see you were nervous and I was almost ninety percent sure that that wasn’t a bad thing. 

Your fingers trembled a bit when you handed over the white envelope, like it was the only thing keeping your feet on the ground. I grasped it gently, staring down at the paper with a small smile and a sprinkle of pink on my cheeks because I knew what this was. I had to suppress an actual giggle when I saw the small doodle of owls with hearts in the corner of the confession. 

I knew you were never good at math, that was a subject you struggled with a lot. This apparently wasn’t the case with Japanese because as I read the characters on the paper it felt as though I was being shown all the love you felt through the words. It was the kind of writing that you’d want to read for eternity, like those Shakespeare sonnets we were told about in literature class. The pieces of work once seen as a chore to decipher, now an adventure I never wanted to stop experiencing. 

As I finished reading, I stole a glance at you but you were biting your lip nervously and fiddling with the hem of your blazer, a sight of uncertainty. It was rather ironic that that was the sight I saw, since I felt my heart trying to escape the confinements of my chest. Maybe I was cradling your heart in my hands, with the power to do as I please. You gave me that power and although at first thought it seemed like a rather foolish idea to lay your feelings so bluntly on your sleeve, it made me think about how brave you are. Even if you did look downright terrified when I made eye contact to tell you I accept. It made me a little less scared that you were just as nervous as me though. 

Five (5)

My name.

You always had a peculiar way of saying my name, it was never ‘Akaashi’. You either strung out the ‘a’ too much or raised your voice in the wrong parts of the word. I guess I kind of got used to it though. It didn’t bother me as it did when we first met, it felt comfortable. If anything, just thinking about you saying ‘Akaashi’ the way everyone else, made dread fill in my stomach. I’m glad you never did. 

It was our little thing. The way you said my name. It made me feel special to you. Like it was an inside joke between just you and me, one that outsiders didn’t have the privilege of being a part of. 

It was at lunch, a few days after the confession and the sun was hot and shining. We decided to eat outside, it was after all, the perfect weather for it. The sky blazed blue and the sun was a celebration of yellow, free and bright. Would it be cheesy to say that you reminded me of the sun? You held a warmth that left people entranced, gravitating towards you. I was one of them. I wanted to bask in your warmth until it gave me second degree burns. 

You were telling me a story of something that happened in class as we ate and I shifted my bento slightly between us as an indication for you to take some. More often than not, you bought food in the cafeteria but I didn’t mind sharing. I always packed extra just for you. 

I plopped some more onigiri in my mouth and nodded along. You stopped abruptly after and I looked up to you, questioning. 

“Can I call you Keiji?” I stopped at the sudden change in topic and almost choked on the rice. You’ve called me my given name before but I could count on one hand the amount of times. I managed to not choke on my lunch and instead felt a warmth spread over my cheeks and ears that we both knew was not caused by the sun. I nodded with a small smile and yours beamed compared to mine. I felt the excitement radiating off you which only made me blush deeper. You held your grin throughout the entirety of lunch and all the way through after school practice. Let’s just say, I had never heard my given name said as many times in a day as you managed to call out. 

Although, I relished in the reaction you gave me when I uttered “Koutarou” to catch your attention. It fought for first place in my mind of favourite memories. 

Six (6)

Through a question.

When I arrived at our usual lunch spot, I found myself doubting whether I had been let out late and lunch ended because the bench we normally sat was forlorn. I had to check my watch but I wasn’t mistaken, lunch was already in session and it was rare -if ever- that I’d make it here before you. 

I convinced myself to not overthink, that you’d arrive any minute now, but I was left disappointed when the only thing greeting me was the bell. I packed up my barely touched bento and paced up the stairs and into the third year hallways. The halls were still relatively empty so I peeked into each classroom as I went along.

“Akaashi-kun!” a high-pitched voice boomed out and I stopped dead in my tracks as though I had been caught in a sinful act. The same voice but much quieter now uttered a small conformation of “that’s him right?” and I turned around. I was met with a girl just shorter than me alongside two boys that were around my height, from a distance. I debated making a run for it but quickly shook that idea out of my head since there was no real reason to, they were only third years, I’ve hung out with third years before for crying out loud, my sorta boyfriend is a third year. 

I collected myself then stared into the girl’s blue eyes expectantly. “I’ve seen you hang around Bokuto a lot- could you maybe give him his bag and that when you see him please” she smiled and gestured to your bag and blazer the other boys were holding which I had strangely only just noticed. It’s not like we’re dating or anything is what I wanted to reply but instead I nodded and accepted the items before asking for any indication to where you could be. 

“Oh yeah, he seemed really distracted during the lesson so the teacher asked him to walk around a bit and come back when he was ready...but I guess he didn’t” the girl shrugged, her straight brunette hair sliding off her shoulders with the movement. “He’s probably somewhere in one of the classrooms but we already looked through a few and lunch is almost finished so-” I tuned out the rest of her small rant, mostly because I wasn’t that interested, the syllabus of her words seemed to join together after that. 

Either way, she thanked me and they waved me off. The thing my mind was stuck on though was that you had been so distracted that the teacher sent you out of the class. I’d have to ask you about that, at least when I’d manage to find you. A sense of uneasiness settled in me and I tried not to dwell on it too long. 

There were only a couple classrooms left and hopelessness was surging through me, an endless amount of questions to what could’ve happened racing circles in my mind. Were you okay? Was something wrong? Did you leave early? Were you rethinking your confession? Were you rethinking us? Did you even think that there was an us? I mean we never said out loud the status of our relationship, but I just assumed…

I had assumed. Maybe you just wanted to tell me how you felt and not progress further. Wait that doesn’t make sense. Why would you do that? Stop overthinking this Keiji I thought to myself, this probably doesn’t have anything to do with you. 

I told myself this over and over until I had reached the last classroom and crossed my fingers that I’d find that familiar flock of spiked up hair. 

As though by some miracle, you were actually there. The noticeable black and white colour of your hair was an identifiable feature in the vacant room. Your head was laying down on the oak desk, resting slightly sideways and I wondered if you were sleeping. 

I shut the door quietly and you didn’t give any indication of being awake or hearing me so I made my way to where you sat in the far corner. As I came closer I noticed your steady breathing and the way your chest rose and fell comfortably. The noise that came from where I had dumped both our bags was much louder than I intended and a huge contrast to the serene mood that filled the air. 

You stirred a bit after that and I internally cursed myself for waking you up. I slowly stroked my hands through your hair and it wasn’t nearly as stiff as it could’ve been, it’s excessive amount of gel that it normally carried was instead replaced with something that resembled a nice smelling conditioner. When I pulled away the smell of fresh peaches imprinted on my hand and I found that I didn’t quite mind. 

“Keiji?” you looked up, furrowed brows until you noticed that I was in fact, me, before throwing a lazy smile. “Hey baby, what are you doing here?”

At that I was almost convinced that my stomach was swarmed with butterflies, the sound of your raspy voice calling me that and I had to take a second to remember to fucking breathe. Maybe pet names or whatever they called them, weren’t entirely bad. 

“You didn’t come to lunch.” So I got worried, I should’ve added but my mind was still trying to process the previous surge of emotions. You furrowed your eyes again and sat up, stretching your arms over your head with a satisfying pop before reaching for your phone. I pulled out mine to show you the time instead and a frown replaced your lips. 

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know…” You trailed off when I hopped onto the desk, each of my legs dangling on either side of you. I faced you and waited to see if you’d continue but you only looked as I adjusted myself to fit more comfortably, leaning back on the balls of my palm. 

“Did something happen?”

You tilted your head to the side and I noticed the thin, red patterned lines that must’ve been created by sleep, “Huh?”

I wondered if I should call them your friends or classmates as I recalled what they had told me. “Oh that.” You said and your frown disappeared in place of a thin line “I just had a lot on my mind.” I wanted to see you smile again. Your smile was always so beautiful, it could ease my worries so easily. 

“What about?”

“A few things I guess. Volleyball, graduation, college...you.”

You had shuffled closer and rested your arms on my thighs, circling them around my waist which brought my hands from the table and around your neck. “Thinking about me while doing algebra, hm?” I teased, unable to hold the grin from my lips “how sexy.”

Your smile grew bigger and I leaned down to join our lips together. Your lips were slightly chapped but warm and I couldn’t think of anything more that I wanted to be doing. Another bell was heard in the distance but I paid no attention to it, instead I snaked my arms a little tighter and slid my hand into your hair, the new but pleasant scent of peaches made its way to my nose once more. 

We broke apart, a bit breathless and when I looked into your eyes again there was a newfound resolve behind them and it sped up my heartbeat. Before I could say anything, you gave mention to a subject we hadn’t had the chance to come across yet. 

“Have I told you what an amazing boyfriend you are?”

I choked on pretty much nothing and felt a blush seeping through my skin, “where...where’s this coming from?”

“I just want you to know. Because you are like, the best boyfriend ever.” You grinned and I tried to fight my internal self to catch a grip. 

“Well you never even asked me to be your boyfriend” I said more petulantly than I could’ve thought was possible coming from me and almost let out an audible sound in surprise. Funnily, your smile only grew and before I knew it you were pulling me closer, a goofy look as you uttered the next sentence, “Keiji, would you do me the great honour of becoming my boyfriend?”

I rolled my eyes but the excitement was beyond concealment as I whispered back, “Yes” and fell into the gentle embrace that was your lips. 

Seven (7)

In a promise. 

It is here, with our heads in the silky grass, laying together, pinkies intertwined and our bags at our feet, that time both stops and stretches to the infinite. 

The sky was painted with brush stroke clouds, It was one of those baby-blue skies, not the psychedelic candy-blue nor the washed out grey so characteristic of wintry mornings. The clouds were like puffs of radiant joy, ready to disperse into the wind, to travel our Earth, making a show of it’s identity. I watched the eddy, pure reflected rays dappled and swirling with the sky, until all that remained was that perfect baby-blue. Reminiscence of the spring breeze echoed around us even though summer had officially arrived and I closed my eyes with a sigh. 

I could happily say that you were my boyfriend, no uncertainty or uneasiness. It felt easy. It felt easy loving you, like I was meant to all along. Sometimes I thought about younger me and how I wish he could have been bolder, or braver, maybe that way we would've had more time, but it’s no use, because what's done is done and I’ve realised I don’t have much say in the past. 

Even though it was the third year’s graduation, I didn’t let myself think of what would happen to us, or to you, or to me. I already cried about a year worth of tears on the possibilities of not being with you and how life would continue without you. Of course we made plans to stay in contact, and you weren't going to a far away university so it was definitely doable, but something tugged on my hope for the future, because I’ve heard too much about how high school relationships don’t last. Before, I would’ve agreed, but now that I’m with you, all the poems and love songs make sense, as well as the ones about heartbreak. 

However, I didn’t want to think of anything else but the moment I was in now. The rest I could deal with later. I guess this is what people call bittersweet. 

There was a slight rustling beside me and I felt your hand gently grasp my own, this time intertwining more than one finger which I happily reciprocated. “Hey Keiji?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

My eyelids lifted and I saw you looking at me, with those golden eyes...looking at me in a way that made my knees weak and then thankful that I was lying down. I turned my body to its side and you mimicked the movement. 

My heart skipped a beat and my lips were tugged up at the corners, “Promise?”

“Promise.” 

I leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on your mouth as though our lips connecting was our way of shaking on it or like a few cubes of hot wax that had been poured on an envelope and pushed down with a stamp, signifying the end of one thing and the start of another, new and beautiful. 

“I love you too.”

Eight (8)

A whisper in my ear. 

The morning sunlight brushed past the ivory curtains and let in darts of light. I opened my eyes and had to immediately close them again from how bright it was, digging my head back into the pillow. Quickly I realised that my pillow was moving and it was indeed your chest and not the comforter. I found I enjoyed this better anyway. 

It was Sunday, I breathed in relief. We both had Sundays off. Sundays were indeed heavenly; a day where we got to sleep in and I could wake up with you still in bed as you exhaled soft snores, with that ridiculously cute smile that managed to stay on while you slept. A day for us. 

You shifted beneath me and I tilted my head to look at you and your slowly opening eyes, “hi” you yawned with a tired raspy voice. 

“Good morning sexy” 

You grinned, “good morning, my love”

“A fine morning it is, lover boy”

The sun peaked in and rested itself on your chest then continued to drape itself on down your neck, as though spying on our conversation. You ignored it though and nodded instead, “Yes it is, my one and only.”

“The sun is shining so wonderfully today dearest, light of my life, my other half-”

“Okay! Okay!” You laughed, smushing my cheeks together, “you win.”

“Hm, so what's my prize?” 

You grinned again and leaned down to kiss me softly and slowly, and I could feel your smile against my lips. You pulled away after a minute or so. 

“You have my attention” I said, trying to act indifferent but the effect was somewhat ruined by me trying to catch my breath, “but I’m going to need at least ten more of those.” 

A shot of laughter escaped you before you erupted in placing kisses all over my face, making me join you in the laughter. Soon you were straddling me all while continually leaving overly dramatic pecks on my cheek, my forehead, my nose, my eyelids and my jaw. An exaggerated smooch sound with every kiss. As the laughter faded out you finally connected our lips and kissed me feverly with much more energy than I could ever muster in the mornings. 

When I broke away you continued the trail over my jaw and down my neck, invading my Adam's apple in the process. Your hands stroked lazily up and down my side, underneath my shirt. You nipped at certain points down to my collarbone and then slowly made your way back up my neck and to my ear, whispering heavily “I love you” over and over like a prayer, and I couldn’t have stopped the shiver that escaped even if I tried. 

You marked these words like a sizzling brand to the bottom of my ear and I felt as though if there was ever a time when those words would be lost on your tongue, I could find them hiding there, signed with the sweet signature of your kiss. 

Nine (9) 

Loud, so everyone could hear. 

You were floating, flying and soaring out there. It brought me back to our days in high school. 

That distinct smell of leather and sweat as well as the sound of squeaking trainers and volleyballs being smashed on the court. The cheering was admittedly louder and much more lively than the games at our high school national tournament, but it was the most exciting thing back then. Something about the sweaty knee pads, school jersey and the leather feel of the volleyball under my fingers was something I didn’t know I would grow to miss. 

A flood of memories from the endless training sessions, the horrid ice baths, the early morning jogs and late night practices. 

It was a close match against a tough opponent and you were up to serve. The pressure was unbearable and I could feel the tension radiating from you from all the way in the sides and your team wasn’t in better condition. 

An instinct in me forced my hands to cup over my mouth before I could think about the consequences of what I was doing, “Koutarou!”

You stopped twirling the ball in your hand and lifted your head up with wide eyes to search the side-lines. Our eyes locked together and I shouted once more, “You can do it! Get us a point!” 

The whistle blew and your expression changed from something tense, bordering frustration to a beaming smile. You pointed towards me and I felt the stadium muffle behind me as your gesture signalled this one's for you. 

You whipped back and bounced the ball against the squeaky floor, starting the run up to your serve, and it was like I was there beside you, just like it was back then. It was silent for a couple seconds and I squeezed the banister in front of me until my knuckles went white in anticipation. 

That was until the crowd erupted into screams and cheering once more, a new found liveliness danced across not just the people on the stands but on the court as well. A familiar chorus of “hey’s!” exploded into the air and your teammates were high fiving you, jumping beside you in delight but you looked back to me and showed off a toothy grin my way, something in your posture now much bigger. 

You ended up scoring three service aces, and aided greatly in the taking of the final set. Everyone was ecstatic, including me, a victory which felt in a way mine too and I couldn’t wait until I could congratulate you after the closing ceremony. It had only occurred to me that you had different plans when you were sprinting in my direction and leaning over the banister to embrace me, asking me a series of ‘did you see that?! We won!” as though I wasn’t right there watching the entire time. 

Even more surprisingly is when you cupped yours hands on my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss. I could hear the crowds tainted with a mixture of shock and excitement. I felt the blush covering me when you pulled away. 

“Oh my god Keiji! Sorry! I was just really excited and I wanted people to know who my lucky charm was... did I mess up?”

I blushed further as a wolf whistle was heard in the background. More positive than I expected but so far I was making a point of not looking back at the people so it was hard to say if that really was the case. “No, you didn’t. You did good out there Kou. We won.” 

That seemed to be enough for you to embrace me again, “Yes! We won! I love my Keiji!” You shouted out your confession, loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear, loud enough to drown out thoughts about the consequences of what this could mean; so I grinned and dived in with you, into the ocean of victory. 

Ten (10)

In a vow. 

This place radiated an ethereal aura, like something out of a book. A world created so wonderfully for the main characters, a place to take your lover by their hand and go on an adventure to find yourself. I was almost afraid to blink in fear of it disappearing. It felt too good to be true. 

Still, here I was, with the love of my life in the palm of my hand, standing beside me without a single stray thought, instead, living in this moment of magic together. It was exceptionally warm today, much different from the wet weather which we had endured during most of our trip. The sky had cleared today and decided to paint itself a mixture of oranges and pinks, including a scatter of white, fluffy clouds which made me think of an ice cream sundae. 

A smell of damp grass and lavender reached my nose as we followed the stone pathway past bushes full of colourful flowers. There were no words shared between us and there didn’t need to be. We held onto each other’s hand with loose fingers and continued down the trail, our arms swinging softly between us from the momentum you created and my heart felt happily calm. Safety was a feeling I felt often with you. They said to not make homes out of people because sometimes those people abandon you and leave you with no place to go. However, with you, it somehow felt okay-more than okay, it felt right, like I was your home too, a place where you could come to when you had to recharge or when the world felt too overwhelming and you just needed a hug and a warm cup of tea. We were like that to each other in our own ways. 

As my eyes wandered around the magnificent garden I felt your hand squeeze mine and soon my eyes found you, just like they always did. You bit your bottom lip nervously and gave me a soft glance, turning your head once more unto the cobble floor. I thought about asking you if everything was okay but years of communication taught me that if anything was the matter, you’d tell me when you felt the need too. This didn’t stop me from teasing a conversation from you though. 

“This place is terribly romantic.” 

You lifted your gaze onto me and gave me a matching grin- admittedly much brighter than mine but still a grin nonetheless. I realised a while ago now that I couldn’t match the liveliness or brightness that you exerted at any given moment, but I was okay with that, it suited you much better anyway. 

“Maybe I’m a closet romantic Keiji” You tilted up your nose in defiance but the grin you still wore made it hard to believe you had taken offence. 

“After all these years, all those failed romantic gestures and I only get to find out now. I feel rather left out.” You pouted and I smiled cheekily before placing a lingering kiss to your cheek then shrugging lightly as I pulled away, “at least I have interesting stories to tell.” 

“Keiji!” 

I only grinned in response before turning back to walking. We were approaching some sort of gazebo and I suddenly got a wave of giddiness that masked itself with weary adrenaline. This all seemed far too romantic to be just a casual midday stroll and when I thought about it, it seemed too empty and too pretty in this part of the garden for pedestrians to simply avoid; I tried not to jump to any drastic conclusions. My treacherous heart on the other hand, pounded rapidly against my chest. 

“Kou, seriously, this place feels like a fairy-tale…” I wanted to ask how you found this place, or why you brought us here under the label of a casual outing but the words never quite made it out. 

“Well…” You started, leading me by the hand up the patio stairs and onto the white planked gazebo, “I had found this place when we were looking on where to go next for our holiday, and I just really wanted somewhere special for us.” 

My heart sped up even more as you gently plucked my other hand into your grasp too and forced me by the sheer determination around you to stare into your eyes. Everything felt much too surreal and I had almost forgotten to breath. 

“I was thinking of you when I picked this place. It reminded me of how beautiful you are inside and out, and how special and one of a kind you are.” You looked to the floor for a second and then back into my eyes, tightening your grip on my hands slightly, “I can’t seem to find the words worthy enough to show how much I love you but...I have known for a while how amazing you are, pretty much since I first saw you, and I knew I wanted to spend my whole life learning about you and having never ending adventures, I just love you so much Keiji.”

You bore your intense gaze into me, almost pleading for me to understand the weight behind your words and I nodded feverishly, my vision going slightly blurry. 

“There are so many ways to be happy in this life, but all I really want is you.” Your thumb rubbed circles anxiously on my hand and you took a shaky breath, “I would like to spend the rest of life with you Keiji. What do you say?”

You pulled a silver band from your pocket and I sucked in a breath. It was as though I was in a movie. A production going on in the background and us, the main characters on set professing their years long love affair into the silver wedding band and gossiping lilies. There was no way this could be real. 

I closed my eyes and for the nth time, reminded myself to breathe. When I opened them again though, the freshly trimmed grass, the sundae sky, white gazebo was still there and most importantly, so was you, holding the silver wedding band with a nervous smile. I had assumed the answer to your question was so obvious that I had forgotten to reply. 

“Don’t leave me hanging here…” you chuckled but I could hear the uncertainty in your tone. As if you could be unsure of my love for you. 

“There was never a possibility I could say no” I smiled so hard my cheeks felt like they might burst, “You’re the love of my life Kou, so my answer is yes. Yes!” 

It wasn’t long at all before I had been lifted up and into your grasp, followed by a series of excited congratulatory “yes’s” which had me laughing alongside the joyful tears falling out of my eyes. It was a moment that I could re-play forever in my mind. It didn’t matter to me what other people were doing or thinking, whether our life would ever be like the ones in those movies, or worthy to be written about. With you and me here now, I couldn’t wait for the countless more journeys we would experience together.

We are the protagonists of this world.


End file.
